Coming off the back of their first victory in World Cup 2022 qualifying, Republic of Ireland host Qatar in an international friendly in Dublin on Tuesday.
Despite victory, the hosts have failed to qualify for next year's global tournament, whilst the visitors will be participating in their first ever due to hosting the event on home soil.
Match preview
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Ireland finally managed to brighten up a dismal World Cup qualifying campaign on Saturday, when a Callum Robinson brace helped them on their way to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Azerbaijan in Baku.
Substitute Chiedozie Ogbene added the third late on to seal the first competitive win under manager Stephen Kenny, to help ease some of the pressure building on the man in charge.
The visitors did have some nervy moments in between the first and second goal, but after riding the storm provided by the hosts, the Boys in Green came through and provided only the second win in Kenny's first 17 matches at the helm.
Although a victory over the world's 117th-ranked side was not meaningful in the grand scheme of things, it will certainly provide a lift in the Irish camp during this difficult transitional period that they find themselves in.
Tuesday's friendly will be an opportunity to experiment further with personnel and systems for Kenny, whilst also providing the rare chance to record back-to-back international successes.
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Meanwhile, visitors Qatar have been undergoing experimentation and preparation for their debut appearance on the biggest stage in football ever since being awarded the hosting rights back in 2010.
Tuesday's friendly will be yet another practice match ahead of next year's tournament, for which they have automatically qualified as the host nation.
After being provided with the opportunity to compete in friendlies with the European nations of qualification Group A during these international periods, the Maroon initially underwent a successful period starting in March.
Victories over Luxembourg and Azerbaijan, followed by a draw with Tuesday's opponents Ireland, arrived at the start of an 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions, which was ended by USA in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the summer.
Since the streak came to an end, however, four more friendlies have followed, with three ending in defeat and only a draw with Luxembourg ensuring a losing run did not extend further.
The latest of these friendlies came in Almancil on Saturday, where goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Fonte and Andre Silva condemned Qatar to an expected defeat yet again.
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Team News
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A fully-fit squad was available for Ireland's trip to Azerbaijan at the weekend, and with no injury concerns reported following the victory, it appears to remain the case for the visit of Qatar too.
Rotation is to be expected for a friendly match, with new personnel to be tested and handed a chance to impress the manager.
This could provide opportunities for the likes of Mark Travers, Enda Stevens, Conor Hourihane, Aaron Connolly and Troy Parrott to come into the starting lineup, after settling for places on the bench in Baku.
After switching to a five-man defence to try and contain the attacking quality on display from European giants Portugal on Saturday, Qatar head coach Felix Sanchez could revert back to a back three in Dublin, which would also provide the opportunity to start with two strikers as he has done in previous matches.
With friendly matches being a regular occurrence for the visitors, less experimentation is to be expected, meaning less rotation of personnel in the starting lineup.
However, Yousef Hassan could receive a recall in goal, whilst Akram Afif could be pushed further forward to join Almoez Ali up front, with a combined 55 international goals provided by the two to date.
Republic of Ireland possible starting lineup:
Travers; Omobamidele, Duffy, Egan; Doherty, Arter, Hourihane, Stevens; Connolly, McGrath; Parrott
Qatar possible starting lineup:
Y Hassan; Al-Rawi, Salman, Hassan; Miguel, Al Heidos, Boudiaf, Hatem, Al Brake; Afif, Ali
We say: Republic of Ireland 1-1 Qatar
With not much to choose between the two sides, and little riding on this game, it is difficult to predict the outcome here, although a draw appears to be the most likely in this situation.
Performance and experimentation will be most important for both nations, with players staking a claim for a place in the starting lineups for competitive fixtures in the future.
Matthew Tranter
